What is the future for the Green agenda under the new Government?

Matthew Farrow
11 May 2015

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Matthew Farrow thinks air quality and new runways will be controversial and wonders whether onshore wind if, as promised in the Tory manifesto, will really be halted.

Even before the Election, there had been some debate in the environmental industry community about what we could expect on environmental policy should a Conservative Government be elected. 

On the positive side, the party’s manifesto contained a strong commitment to the UK’s legally-binding carbon targets (a commitment foreshadowed by environment minister Lord de Mauley at last December’s EIC conference where he stated unequivocally that the Conservatives would not repeal the Climate Change Act), and a proposal to create a new fund to boost the building of new homes on brownfield sites.

"The level of frustration with environmental targets and regulation in parts of the Conservative Party was indicated by the manifesto’s insistence that new onshore wind farms would not be permitted.  Given that onshore wind is one of the cheapest renewables, and the manifesto pledged to promote the most ‘cost-effective’ low carbon measures, a certain degree of ‘fudge’ seemed to be in evidence."

On the other hand, there was very little content on the rest of the green agenda, and David Cameron’s famous exhortation to ‘vote blue, go green’ from the 2010 election seems a long time ago. 

The level of frustration with environmental targets and regulation in parts of the Conservative Party was indicated by the manifesto’s insistence that new onshore wind farms would not be permitted.  Given that onshore wind is one of the cheapest renewables, and the manifesto pledged to promote the most ‘cost-effective’ low carbon measures, a certain degree of ‘fudge’ seemed to be in evidence.

Some environmental issues though will force themselves onto to the agenda whether the new Government likes it or not.  The manifesto authors contented themselves with a passing aside on air quality: ‘we will continue to do even more to tackle air pollution’.  But this will not satisfy the UK Supreme Court, which just before the election decreed that the next government must take immediate action to make the UK compliant with EU air quality standards and should submit a detailed plan to the European Commission ‘by December 2015’. 

The Commission itself launched separate infraction proceedings against the UK for air quality non-compliance and will no doubt be keen to see what ‘do even more’ will mean in practice.

The new Government’s support for shale gas will also bring the regulation of local environmental impacts into sharp relief (during the campaign the Prime Minister pledged that shale gas wells would be subject to strict environmental safeguards).  With so many big infrastructure schemes in the offing, this issue of deciding what are acceptable levels of impact on local communities and natural environments is likely to feature strongly in the years ahead.

The other issue that may dominate the environmental agenda will be the EU referendum.  In his speech announcing his intention to hold an in-out referendum, David Cameron included ‘environmental regulation’ in a list of areas where the EU powers had become too extensive.

 In 2013 he reportedly referred to renewables targets (which are set by the EU) as ‘green crap’.  However, most EU environmental regulation is highly technical and less ‘political’ than high profile issues such as free movement of people or EU employment law, so it remains to be seen whether the Government makes a major attempt to include environmental regulation in the forthcoming negotiations.

Finally, the smallness of the new Government’s majority means that backbench MPs and select Committees may have a significant influence on all policy issues, including green ones.  Some of the Conservative MPs most associated with the vote blue/go green thinking, such as Greg Barker and Laura Sandys, stepped down at the Election, though others such as Zac Goldsmith (who has said he will resign and trigger a by-election if a 3rd runway at Heathrow is given the go-ahead) remain.   

The new SNP MPs are unlikely to take much interest in Westminster environmental policy as it is a topic largely devolved to Scotland already, but whether any of the new influx of Conservative MPs will see either supporting or opposing the green agenda as a way to make a name for themselves remains to be seen.

Matthew Farrow is executive director of the Environmental Industries Commission, the leading trade body for environmental firms.

www.eic-uk.co.uk